has nominated charles chuck hagel for secretary of defense. hagel testified before the senate armed services committed tee this week. is senator john mccain grilling hagel about hagel's opposition to the surge in iraq in 2007. >> were you correct in your judgment. >> i would defer that to history. >> when you were right or wrong about the surge. >> i'll explain why i played those comments. >> i want to know if you were right or wrong. that is a direct question. i expect a direct answer. >> senator hagel explained he opposed the surge in iraq because it cost nearly 1200 american lives. >> i saw the consequences and the suffering and the horror of war. so i did question a surge. i always ask the question, is this going to be worth the sacrifice? because there will be sacrifice. >> that was hagel's emphasis on the cost factor. my question is this. his emphasis on the cost factor in military decisions, does it serve as a dodge to senator mccain's bullet? or did he mean this completely from the heart? and if he did, isn't he exactly the man we want over at the department of defense? >> h

that judgment to history. >> chuck hagel and the battle for the pentagon. >> the good news is, for the first time in many years, republicans and democrats seem ready to tackle this problem together. >> the immigration problem. has somebody been reading exit polls? >> too many children are dying. too many children. >> also, the fight over -- over guns. >> law-abiding gun owners will not accept blame for the acts of violence or deranged criminals. >> the word on hillary in 2016. will she or won't she? >> i have no plans to run. >> thursday was not a good day for chuck hagel, president obama's choice to be his next offensive material. his old pal and fellow vietnam veteran john mccain jumped all over him for opposing the search --the surge in iraq. >> were you correct or not to say that the surge would be the month dangerous foreign policy blunder since vietnam? correct or incorrect? yes or no? are you going to answer the question? the question is, where you're right or wrong? that is a pretty straightforward question. i would like for you to answer whether you were right or wrong, an

previous statements at the confirmation hearing chuck hagel made it clear he will act in accordance with white house policies if his kind of don't say is approved and also he's going to check out listen to the session which brought some heated discussion but little hope of change. chuck hagel bent backwards to show how mainstream his views are the senators kept accusing him of not being mainstream enough and they kept using the word mainstream over and over again during this hearing chuck hagel has walked back on a number of positions he had taken earlier he kept apologizing again and again and chuck hagel went to great lengths to show that he is in no way going to challenge washington's core foreign policy beliefs as one of the senators put it it was quite an exhausting hearing considering the senators were asking almost the same questions and roughly eighty percent of them had to do with chuck hagel previous statements on israel and iran there was so much mentioning of israel that at some point they were confirming him as secretary of defense for israel i couldn't count how many t

. chuck hagel bent backwards to show how mainstream his views are the senators kept accusing him of not being mainstream enough and they kept using the word mainstream over and over again during this hearing chuck hagel has walked back on a number of positions he had taken earlier he kept apologizing again and again and chuck hagel went to great lengths to show that he is in no way going to challenge washington's core foreign policy beliefs as one of the senators put it it was quite an exhausting hearing considering the senators were asking almost the same questions and roughly eighty percent of them had to do with chuck hagel previous statements on israel and iran there was so much mentioning of israel that at some point they were confirming him as secretary of defense for israel i couldn't count how many times he said all options are on the table with regards to iran again and again saying a strike on iran is an option an option that he had previously called irresponsible by the way here's what chuck hagel kept repeating throughout the hearing get the united nations behind you get

chuck hagel narrowly wins u.s. senate approval to become the new defense secretary but his policies draw fire from capitol hill especially among his own fellow republicans. italy upsets the austerity apple cart as voters say no to more cuts but leave parliament in turmoil raising fears the country's political crisis will negatively impact the euro. and how's this for a minor traffic of fat the shocking video posted by a russian comp all of their eight year old daughter driving and dangerous speeds. from our studios in moscow you're watching r t with me and he said no way our top story this hour chuck hagel is now officially the u.s. defense secretary but only after being narrowly approved by the senate he's been under fire from fellow republicans for his past criticism of the iraq war and the israeli lobby with some believing he could also be too soft on iraq it's also just two days before billions of dollars in budget cuts are scheduled to hit the military can now on the clash on capitol hill. chuck hagel was confirmed by the senate fifty eight votes for forty one vote against a na

program. obama finally gets his man. the u.s. senate confirms chuck hagel. what increased demand for cocoanuts has failed to bear fruit for indonesia as farmers. pope benedict xvi is making his final appearance in st. peter's square as the roman catholic pope -- his final appearance in at st. peter's square. he is the first pope in 600 years to resign. >> in these recent months, i felt my weakening strength. i prayed and asked for in light meant to make the right decision for the good of the church. >> barbara, amid the huge outpouring of affection from the faithful gathered there. >> absolutely. a lot of people have turned out to say goodbye to pope benedict xvi. 50,000 tickets were sold. it is more likely that there are about 150,000 people around the vatican and the main road that leads to it. people are still walking towards st. peter's square, but they're being redirected to other parts around the square where there are big screens where they can watch the pope. nothing compared to the figures of the people we saw for the funeral of john paul back in 2005. that was a funeral and

the new u.s. defense chief sponsor raul on capitol hill with some republicans worry chuck hagel foreign policies may be too soft for their liking. forcing that eight year old girl to speed at one hundred kilometers an hour on a snowy road the russian capital of course anger in the online community with the latest viral video showcasing extreme examples of russian driving. it to me reaches an economic and political dead end as the country's crucial general election delivers no clear winner with the population of massively rejecting austerity policies. welcome to all to you live from moscow it's midday in the russian capital. capitol hill's been shaken by a major bipartisan clash over the need to fend secretary chuck hagel was an hourly approved by the senate after coming under fire from fellow republicans for past criticism of the iraq war on the jewish lobby with some believing he could also be too soft on iran but president obama firmly believes he's the right man for the job is gone she can reports chuck hagel was confirmed by the senate fifty eight votes for forty one vote against a

capitol hill's been shaken by a major bipartisan clash over the new defense secretary chuck hagel was narrowly approved by the senate after coming under fire from fellow republicans for past criticism of the iraq war and the jewish lobby with some believing he could also be too soft on iran reports. chuck hagel was confirmed by the senate fifty eight votes for forty one vote against a narrow vote as you can see but he can find in louisville all that apologizing and repenting behind and he had to do a lot of that to get the job to go has been working very hard to tailor his views so as to please congress as a senator chuck hagel allowed himself to oppose the surge in iraq or to criticize israel's policies to oppose seeing war with iran as an option but as the president's nominee for the defense secretary position he backtracked on much of what he had said before and did it as as even his supporters noted in a rather clumsy way but in a way that showed how much he wanted the job and the whole confirmation process including the attack campaign against him including the filibuster ten day

senators stall the confirmation process of a proposed u.s. secretary of defense demanding chuck hagel answer more questions. and money troubles and belt tightening during the g. twenty meeting in moscow finance chiefs discussed the possibility of a currency war as well as the ongoing even debt crisis. and top news in commentary direct from our studios in central moscow this is r.t. certainly glad to have you with us now picture this at eight fifty one in the morning a mid-sized in a mid-sized city east of the year olds people are starting to go to work and to school when the sky is lit up by the fiery path of the media are about to smash into the earth in the middle of russia and one witness was the canadian hockey player michael garnett who gave r.t. a firsthand account of the dramatic arrival. speak bright like shining across the sky you know blinding brighter than the sun and then it was followed by a huge. explosion you know what a minute or so later that broke last year he sank the lake fixtures were swaying back and forth and i don't point when looking out the window when i saw this gi

chuck hagel is going on the d. thousands on capitol hill today as one congress member after another take shots at his readiness to leave the defense department a look at this a war of words coming up. thursday january thirty first i'm liz wall here in washington d.c. and you're watching r t we begin today taking a look at whistleblowers in america former cia agent john kiriakou was sentenced to thirty months in prison just a few days ago he struck a plea deal and admitted to revealing the identity of a covert officer to a reporter he was originally charged with violating the espionage act kiriakou was the first cia official to publicly confirm the use of waterboarding and other tactics he describes as torture under the bush administration but his supporters believe he's being unfairly targeted and punished for blowing the whistle on this government practice john kiriakou himself joins us now in one of his final interviews before he goes. the president along with jasmine radicals in his attorney really appreciate you both being here today in no time anything is of the essence for you

and he westergren chief sponsor around capitol hill with some republicans worried chuck hagel is foreign policy maybe. major world powers weight training response to ease sanctions in return for terror around hold on a second level nuclear talks begin in kazakhstan. and italy reaches an economic and political country's crucial general election if there's no clear winner the population massively rejecting austerity policies. news and lots more twenty four hours a day without me. the pentagon is bracing for change chuck hagel will be sworn in as the new u.s. defense secretary later on wednesday he's come under fire from fellow republicans for past criticism of the iraq war and the jewish lobby some believing he could also be too soft on iran but president obama firmly believes he's the right man for the job he's going to. chuck hagel was confirmed by the senate fifty eight votes for forty one vote against a narrow vote as you can see but he can find in louisville all that apologizing and repenting behind and he had to do a lot of that to get the job has been working very hard to ta

face of the pentagon chuck hagel he allowed himself to say right attacking iran is a stupid idea and i believe you also called for direct negotiations do you think we could see direct negotiations any time soon with chuck hagel in ministration well i think that that former senator hagel has taken courageous positions on iran on a range of issues and i admire them and respect them and the concern i have is that he is being nominated for the wrong job to carry out those positions his defense secretary if he is a if he is if he's approved to be as defense secretary he will not be the person in charge of creating or implementing strategies of iran or any other foreign policy issue. he will be he will be at the defense department doing quintessentially defense secretary things in this environment which is to cut the budget and try to keep the united states out of another war now that peace try to keep the united states out of another war could have impact here but the problem is he what he could potentially try to keep united states out of another war without being able to either to o

chuck hagel has walked back on a number of positions he had taken earlier he kept apologizing again and again and chuck hagel went to great lengths to show that he is in no way going to challenge washington's core foreign policy beliefs as one of the senators put it it was quite an exhausting hearing considering the senators were asking almost the same questions and roughly eighty percent of them had to do with chuck hagel previous statements on israel and iran and there was so much mentioning of israel that at some point they were confirming him as secretary of defense for israel i couldn't count how many times he said all options are on the table with regards to iran again and again saying a strike on iran is an option an option that he had previously called irresponsible by the way here's what chuck hagel test repeating throughout the hearing get the united nations behind you get the international sanctions behind you keep military options on the table if the military option is the only option it's the only option one of the senators pointed out during the hearing that in a private c

blocked of the vote to confirm chuck hagel as u.s. secretary of defense he is the first such presidential nominee for pentagon chief that this is ever happened to the senator's claim that they need more time for another hearing and are going to count comments. those who blocked the vote on chuck hagel nomination this thursday know very well that he will eventually be confirmed as defense secretary there are enough votes in the senate to confirm him but the stalling of the vote together with the humiliating treatment that the senators gave chuck hagel two weeks ago at his confirmation hearing this whole process is seen as a message all by itself those lawmakers showed that they could crush anyone who would allow themselves to dissent from washington's core foreign policy beliefs chuck hagel remarks at the confirmation hearing disappointed even his supporters during the hearing which to me seemed like an inclination mr haygood had to backtrack on many of the statements he had made before including that war with iran should not be an option including his criticism of israel's actions and som

military chief faces his latest battle today coming up here on r t we report on where chuck hagel stands after being told what hung out to dry in a bitter partisan standoff. german peace activists are outraged by increasing their sales to gulf countries saying bolin is ignoring the dubious human rights records of its client supreme court opinion on the story coming up for you shortly . for now though the european union says there will be no relief and sanctions on offer when iran holds major talks with world powers in kazakhstan. where u.s. officials had suggested could be a let up in restrictions if it limits enrichment activities and closes one of its nuclear sites iran is currently bending under severe trade and military sanctions amid accusations is developing a nuclear bomb former washington advisor told says the measures have nothing to do with atomic fears. the iranians causation as they are and for five thousand years certainly longer than questions of nations or any western civilizations and they're not suicidal. they know that's where the nuclear weapons they would be obliterat

detroitcriticism and you worked with senator chuck hagel. what kind of defense secretary do you think he would be? >> i think he would an superb defense secretary. he has made clear in these hearingshearings under difficult circumstances that he's mainstream and he supports what the president sports--supports. i think he has carefully calculated and honest views in how and what we should be proceeding in the world. we are part of it. we clearly need a defense second to none in this particular issue. but we also have to be thoughtful about how we move ahead. i think he's conscious as we all are of the fact that expenditures are going to go down in the days ahead and he will be called upon to make difficult judgments for the president. i have every confidence from my knowledge of him that he will give the president the correct and proper adjustment. >> you called him a man of independent judgment. it seems that's what he was being punished for up on capitol hill. do you think that they were pillaring on him a bit? >> i think they were because in fact, he is not a tea party person. he is

chief for he faces his latest battle today coming up a report on chuck hagel. being all but hung out to dry in a bitter partisan stuff. so i just after ten minutes past the hour here in the russian capital britain's unemployment benefits aim to provide a safety net for anyone between jobs looking for the next career opportunity for some the payouts are so attractive getting out of bed to go to work doesn't seem quite worth it. reports i couldn't really believe my luck to be on. a dream i thought this is amazing you know british government is helping me out you know i needed somewhere to live and i don't have a job not the words you expect to hear from someone who's fallen on hard times housing benefits allowed stephanie to rent a flat in this sport block in london's glitzy mayfair and by myself i could always barely afford a studio in central london when i was working and. looking for a job so. it's a sprawling and complicated system but one that allows a family of four to claim up to thirty five thousand pounds a year from housing to child care and unemployment benefits i've known peop